The present invention is directed generally to a component holdback system, and more particularly to a system with at least one rotatable or fixed in-line lever positioned to alternately retain or release components from at least one lane of such components while an operation is performed ahead of the holdback point.
Various techniques have been utilized to manage the movement and positioning of components in assembly lines. It is generally well known in the art to single line or multi-line feed lanes which feed components into various mechanisms, such as straight pockets or star wheels (or “sprockets” or “gears” or “dials”) or other suitable component receiving mechanisms. Star wheels, straight pockets and other component receiving mechanisms are often used in assembly line systems to quickly transport components from one workstation to another, or to reduce a number of component in-feed streams down to a single component outflow stream. Star wheels have a plurality of cogs, with each two adjacent cogs defining a recess therebetween. Components are fed into the star wheel recesses between consecutive cogs. Conversely, whereas the recesses around a star wheel are generally radially spaced with respect to one another, straight pockets are generally aligned in a straight line with respect to one another. In both cases, the consistent and continuous in-feed of components from one or multiple lines into such mechanisms can be of high importance, as each failed insertion of a component may results in a drop in efficiency. In may cases, a broken part may be the result of improper insertion.
When feeding components into such a star wheel or a straight pocket, problems may arise. In some situations, components in the in-feed streams can crowd together and become stuck such that fewer than desired (or no) components are received by the star wheel or straight pocket. Additionally, as components are generally fed into straight pockets or into star wheels as the star wheels rotate, timing issues may hinder the proper in-feed of components. Attempting to feed a component into a component receiving mechanism too quickly or too slowly will result in a mis-feed, preventing the component from being received properly. Additionally, specifically with star wheels, when attempting to feed components into the recesses of a star wheel from multiple in-feed lanes, the natural curvature of the star wheel can create loading issues.
Therefore, a more efficient system for feeding components, such as beverage caps, into component receiving mechanisms such as a straight pocket or star wheel is desired.